OAKLAND — Messalonskee entered the season as the team to beat based on the number of players it returned from its Class A softball state title team of a year ago.

But the Eagles need to prove it on the field. So far they have, defeating the second-, third- and fourth-ranked teams in Class A North over the past six days. Wednesday it was Edward Little’s turn and the Eagles turned them back 4-2 behind the four-hit pitching of senior Kirsten Pelletier.

The Eagles (9-0) are solidly in first place in Class A North while the Red Eddies fall to 7-2.

Pelletier struck out nine, walked one and gave up a couple of unearned runs in the top of the seventh. She didn’t feel as sharp as she did Friday when she fanned 17 Lewiston batters in a 2-1 nine-inning victory, but was nonetheless satisfied with the result.

“Personally I didn’t hit my corners as well as I should have,” Pelletier (9-0) said. “But the team picked me up and we had a great team win.”

The Eagles collected eight hits, including a single and home run from Taylor Easler, off hard-throwing Sarah Hammond.

“We knew what she was going to bring us,” Messalonskee coach Leo Bouchard said. “Yesterday we cranked up the pitching machine. It was refreshing to see a pitcher that was pounding the strike zone the way she was and we responded very well. We saw the ball and we hit the ball.”

Messalonskee scored twice in the third inning, which began with Madisyn Charest getting hit by a pitch. After moving to second on a groudout, Charest scored on Pelletier’s single to center, while Pelletier scored on Hannah Duperry’s two-out, bloop single down the left-field line.

Pelletier got into a little bit of trouble in the first couple of innings but escaped damage with a pair of strikeouts in the first and a base-running error by the Red Eddies in the second. In three games and 23 innings of work against Bangor, Lewiston and Edward Little, Pelletier allowed 11 hits, walked three and struck out 39.

“She’s got that mindset that she can give up a home run and she’s coming right back at you,” Bouchard said. “Nothing rattles her. They can hit the ball, they can score runs and she comes back smiling, ‘I’m going after the next one.'”

Edward Little’s Maddy Thistlewaite singled up the middle with one out in the second inning and moved to third on Taylor Depot’s double to the gap in right center. Karli Stubbs followed with a bunt down the third base line that Pelletier fielded. She looked to first and wheeled to third in time to catch Thistlewaite off the base for the second out. She got out of the inning on a ground out from Olivia Jensen.

“Maddy’s a sophomore,” Edward Little coach Elaine Derosby said. “She’s never really been in that situation before. That’s a learning experience for her.”

In the sixth with one out and two runners on, Emmy Lashua lined a ball to left that Kate Pino trapped. But she came up firing and forced out Depot at third.

“She knew ahead she had to go to third,” Bouchard said. “She came up firing and we got the play.”

Easler opened the bottom of the sixth with a line drive over the left-field fence, the first homer for the senior catcher since her sophomore year.

“I usually like faster pitchers because there’s less time to think about it,” Easler said.

Kelsey Dillon later doubled for the Eagles and scored on a wild pitch. The Red Eddies scored twice in seventh when Thistlewaite drew the only walk off Pelletier, moved to third on Depot’s second double of the game and both scored on an infield error.

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